Gemma Elise is 6 weeks old today!

I have been terrible about getting on here and updating our blogspot but finally, 10 weeks after my last post, I am back! Gemma Elise was born on Monday, July 21st at 7:13 PM. She was 9 lbs and 1 oz and 23 inches long!!! Despite her size, I had a great labor and delivery. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! Everything progresses normally and quickly. We checked into the hospital at 5PM and Gemma was born 2 hours and 15 minutes later! She has been such a blessing from day 1. She is a great eater and sleeper. Fortunetly for Ben and I, we haven't really experienced the exhaustion that most new parents complain of. Ben has made life really easy around the house by helping out a ton. He is great with Gemma and gets up during the night with her on the weekends when he can. Gemma has been smiling for a while now. The mornings are the best with her! As soon as she eats, she's all smiles until it's time for a nap! We can't get enough of her! She loves being on her tummy and she is able to lift her head way up and hold it while she looks around. Here is a video of her on her tummy from when she was two weeks old. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX7DbIyAOls I am still trying to figure out how to post in directly to this page, but for now, you can just follow the link. We love all the little noises and coos that she makes. She makes some in the video but in the 4 weeks since that was taken, she is capable of making loads more. Two weeks ago, we went for our first trip out to Berlin to meet some friends from when we lived in Clovis, the Crabtree's. We had a great time visiting with them and Gemma did great! She slept for 6 hours at night for the first time while we were in Berlin. Here is a picture of the three of us in front of a portion of what is left of the Berlin Wall.


A few days after returning home, Gemma's Auntie Alli and Uncle Cliff arrived from NY for a visit. We went to Rothenberg with them, which is an amazing little town inside of a walled city. We had a blast exploring around there. The picture on the left is Alli and Gemma in a beer garden in Rothenburg. We still had a few days at home with Alli and Cliff before they had to return home. One of the days, we went to a wine tasting in Braunenberg and the picture is below.
Alli and Cliff left yesterday, as did Ben. He is in Turkey for the next 3 weeks for work. I hate it even more when he leaves now that Gemma is here. I know he is missing her like crazy already. The good news is that my mom arrived yesterday from New Zealand and will be here for the next 5 weeks! It is already such a help having her here, especially while Ben is gone. She has loved getting to meet her first granddaughter! Gemma was giving her huge smiles this morning! We will just be hanging out while Ben is gone and getting things done around the house - thank goodness for mothers!